9 Reasons Why You Need to Embrace Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is this year's hottest social media marketing trend. Brands across regions and industries are increasing their influencer spending by up to 50% and publishing more sponsored content than ever before. If you're not one of them yet, here are nine reasons why you should include social media influencers in your next campaign:

1. Your competitors are already leveraging social media influencers

Make sure to stay ahead of the game! The competition is already tapping into the potential of social media influencers. According to a survey by Bloglovin', 63% of marketers increased their influencer marketing budgets in 2017. This means that a large number of businesses are already reaping the benefits of working with influencers. If you're not one of them yet, it's time to embark on the search for the social media influencer that best fits your brand.

2. Word of mouth is still very effective in social media marketing

It's no secret that people trust the opinions of their friends and family over the messaging of brands. In fact, as much as 90% of consumers claim they value recommendations from people they know while 70% believe online consumer opinions. This is where one of the biggest advantages of influencers lies; because influencers are trusted by their audience, they can impact people's buying decisions.

3. Social media influencers have established trust and loyalty

The trust and loyalty social media influencers have established with their audiences are some of their most valuable assets. In an atmosphere where only 4% of consumers declare trust in marketing and advertising, the ability to speak to your audience through someone they trust is an essential marketing tool.

4. Social media influencers allow you to advertise authentically

Internet users are growing increasingly frustrated with online ads, which is reflected in the rising popularity of ad blockers. Social media influencers with both a dedicated audience and the knowledge of how to speak to them can help you overcome that trend. Influencers' content is highly personalized even when they're advertising, so the sponsored posts don't appear too salesy or put audiences off.

5. Social media influencers can achieve high organic reach

We all heard of Facebook's major algorithm change and how it's going to decrease brands' organic reach in favor of meaningful person-to-person interactions. Those working with social media influencers don't have to worry too much about the algorithm tweak, though. Since influencer content generates high engagement, it can help brands surface in the News Feed organically.

6. Social media influencers can help you deliver your message to a niche audience

Although understanding your audience is the cornerstone of any successful marketing strategy, many brands are still struggling to identify their audiences - especially the niche ones. Influencers, who work like "magnets" by gathering niche communities in one place, can significantly help brands learn about and appeal to smaller user groups.

7. Social media influencers can help you generate quality leads

Because social media influencers enable you to tap into precise audiences with tailored content, there's a large chance that your message will resonate and drive conversions. This proved true for over 50% of marketers who claim that they attracted better quality leads to their business thanks to influencer marketing. Sounds good, right?

8. Influencer marketing can boost your social media ROI

Better quality leads mean more conversions for your business. More conversions, in turn, equal a higher revenue. How much higher? Nielsen and TapInfluence's study revealed that leveraging social media influencers can boost your revenue by 11 times - a tangible proof of the effectiveness of influencer marketing.

9. Influencer marketing can improve your SEO ranking

Working with social media influencers doesn't have to end with posting pictures of your products. Instead, you can take your collaboration up a notch and ask an influencer to mention your brand on their blog. As a result, you will generate high quality backlinks to your website, which will improve your Google search ranking.